Day 5: Edinburgh- The Royal Mile
Hello everyone! I just want to start out by saying thank you to everyone who has been reading this blog! We feel very loved to have so many friends and family interested in our travels.
Today we got to sleep in (oooh, 9am!) and itwas laundry day. You think we sat next to a washing machine at a laundromat and waited hours for our clothing to wash and dry? Heck no! That is not the Lewis way of light traveling! We have our carry-on sized backpack and a small day bag and that's it. Our secret to packing light is to pack a week's worth of clothing and then find a laundromat that will wash and fold for you!! Ha ha! It's genius! We drop off our laundry and then go and enjoy the city while someone else does the chore for us.
Where we are staying now is on a street called Castle Street. At the end of the street is a beautiful view of Edinburgh castle, and that's where we were going to start our day of sightseeing the city. So after a 15 minute walk (alas, mostly uphill, this castle is on top of a hill) we were there, along with hundreds of other people. The price was a little expensive but, eh, when in Rome, right?
Now, entering into a castle you think, "Okay, I'm going to walk the grounds and then go inside the castle and see the stuff they have on display", right? Not so with Edinburgh castle. It's more than just the main castle, there's little museums all over inside the castle walls. Where the prison was there's a museum. The crown jewels were on display in another part (with a super long line we decided to pass on). A great hall with SO MANY WEAPONS and grand architecture.
A really beautiful and touching War Memorial hall with stone-carved inscriptions, the names of those who fought in many tomes people can read through, stained glass windows honoring each branch of the military. I think it was my favorite part of the whole castle. There was even a small, two story building dedicated to just the Scots Dragoon guards on horseback! Oh, and a small cemetery of all the royal dogs that had died. So many small little museums within the castle walls. It was massive and winding and packed full of history. And busy! Sheesh! We are here on a weekend, though, so I guess it's to be expected.
After the hustle and bustle in the castle, we exited and started our journey on the "Royal Mile", the main road of Edinburgh that starts with the castle and ends at Holyrood Palace, the official residence of the British monarch in Scotland (which was under maintenance and under a giant tarp, because that's the theme of when we go on vacations, the historical places are being renovated). But the journey down the Royal Mile is a fun, tourist-trappy romp through Scotland culture and merchandise. A theme began to develop as we walked past shop after shop: jewelry, clothing featuring wool, tourist kitsch. I, of course, was drawn into two Christmas shops, a small Harry Potter store (called "The Boy Wizard", which makes me laugh, and then wonder if they're dodging copyright laws), a witchcraft store called "The Wyrd Shop", and a jewelry store that was basically the same stuff you see at the RenFaire. I bought a Christmas ornament though, so that makes me happy :)
There are a few free museums on the Royal Mile, one of which we decided to check out: The Museum of Childhood. It's basically a toy museum, but it was free and fun to see all the different old toys. There was an entire room dedicated to just dolls. There were some strange items dressed up like dolls- shoes, meat bones, sticks... Real weird. Tons of old games (like 1700s old) and toys and anything kids have used to amuse themselves. It was pretty endearing. Maybe tomorrow we'll check out another free museum called The Writer's Museum!
In the middle of all this we stopped at an Italian place that was pretty yummy and offered a discount if you presented your ticket stub to a local, historical attraction. Ka-ching! That was lunch, and snack was Coro Chocolate Cafe where Jeff had a strawberry shake and I had a death by chocolate slice of cake. It was really, really, really good! And for dinner we finally got to check out another Japanese restaurant, more authentic than last night's Yo!Sushi. They had tonkotsu ramen that was pretty darn close to what we ate in Japan, and they even had Calpis on the drink menu! Good job, Hakataya!
Then my feet began to cry out for mercy and my Fitbit said we'd taken 18,000 steps already, so we called it a day around 8pm.
Oh, and we had picked up our laundry by 5 and all was washed and dry and folded. Ahhh, lovely! Well, tomorrow is Sunday, and not much will be open, except for the chain stores, so we'll just have to find something to do on our last day in Scotland!
Today we got to sleep in (oooh, 9am!) and itwas laundry day. You think we sat next to a washing machine at a laundromat and waited hours for our clothing to wash and dry? Heck no! That is not the Lewis way of light traveling! We have our carry-on sized backpack and a small day bag and that's it. Our secret to packing light is to pack a week's worth of clothing and then find a laundromat that will wash and fold for you!! Ha ha! It's genius! We drop off our laundry and then go and enjoy the city while someone else does the chore for us.
Where we are staying now is on a street called Castle Street. At the end of the street is a beautiful view of Edinburgh castle, and that's where we were going to start our day of sightseeing the city. So after a 15 minute walk (alas, mostly uphill, this castle is on top of a hill) we were there, along with hundreds of other people. The price was a little expensive but, eh, when in Rome, right?
Well, not Rome exactly...
...When in Edinburgh then!
Now, entering into a castle you think, "Okay, I'm going to walk the grounds and then go inside the castle and see the stuff they have on display", right? Not so with Edinburgh castle. It's more than just the main castle, there's little museums all over inside the castle walls. Where the prison was there's a museum. The crown jewels were on display in another part (with a super long line we decided to pass on). A great hall with SO MANY WEAPONS and grand architecture.
Seriously, it's like the 1st Edition AD&D Player's Handbook polearm chart threw up on the walls.
I found the Green Man peeking down at us!
A really beautiful and touching War Memorial hall with stone-carved inscriptions, the names of those who fought in many tomes people can read through, stained glass windows honoring each branch of the military. I think it was my favorite part of the whole castle. There was even a small, two story building dedicated to just the Scots Dragoon guards on horseback! Oh, and a small cemetery of all the royal dogs that had died. So many small little museums within the castle walls. It was massive and winding and packed full of history. And busy! Sheesh! We are here on a weekend, though, so I guess it's to be expected.
"Don't look, Marion~!"
After the hustle and bustle in the castle, we exited and started our journey on the "Royal Mile", the main road of Edinburgh that starts with the castle and ends at Holyrood Palace, the official residence of the British monarch in Scotland (which was under maintenance and under a giant tarp, because that's the theme of when we go on vacations, the historical places are being renovated). But the journey down the Royal Mile is a fun, tourist-trappy romp through Scotland culture and merchandise. A theme began to develop as we walked past shop after shop: jewelry, clothing featuring wool, tourist kitsch. I, of course, was drawn into two Christmas shops, a small Harry Potter store (called "The Boy Wizard", which makes me laugh, and then wonder if they're dodging copyright laws), a witchcraft store called "The Wyrd Shop", and a jewelry store that was basically the same stuff you see at the RenFaire. I bought a Christmas ornament though, so that makes me happy :)
There was one of these every 100 ft or so. Seriously!
There are a few free museums on the Royal Mile, one of which we decided to check out: The Museum of Childhood. It's basically a toy museum, but it was free and fun to see all the different old toys. There was an entire room dedicated to just dolls. There were some strange items dressed up like dolls- shoes, meat bones, sticks... Real weird. Tons of old games (like 1700s old) and toys and anything kids have used to amuse themselves. It was pretty endearing. Maybe tomorrow we'll check out another free museum called The Writer's Museum!
I just learned about this book too! There's one that teaches kids not to suck their thumb by terrifying them with a story of a tailor that will cut off their thumb if they don't stop sucking on it! O_o
Scottish Mickey Mice. Friend to children everywhere!
In the middle of all this we stopped at an Italian place that was pretty yummy and offered a discount if you presented your ticket stub to a local, historical attraction. Ka-ching! That was lunch, and snack was Coro Chocolate Cafe where Jeff had a strawberry shake and I had a death by chocolate slice of cake. It was really, really, really good! And for dinner we finally got to check out another Japanese restaurant, more authentic than last night's Yo!Sushi. They had tonkotsu ramen that was pretty darn close to what we ate in Japan, and they even had Calpis on the drink menu! Good job, Hakataya!
Then my feet began to cry out for mercy and my Fitbit said we'd taken 18,000 steps already, so we called it a day around 8pm.
Oh, and we had picked up our laundry by 5 and all was washed and dry and folded. Ahhh, lovely! Well, tomorrow is Sunday, and not much will be open, except for the chain stores, so we'll just have to find something to do on our last day in Scotland!
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